Panel lifting device

ABSTRACT

The invention comprises a lifting device for lifting ceiling panels into place flush against the ceiling beams for installation. The device has a supporting structure for supporting the panel and telescoping sleeves for raising and lowering the panels. The device also has a cable and pulley connecting structure for telescoping the sleeves with a drum or spool for winding the cable and a brake mechanism for the drum. The supporting structure may also be pivoted at an angle and carry thereon panels for installation against the upright wall framework.

United States Patent Young 51 Aug. 13, 1974 1 1 PANEL LIFTING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Roland 0. Young, 1208 Chestnut, Exammer pmnk Werner Grand Forks, N. Dak. 58201 Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Kleve [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 248,129 ABSTRACT UuS- CL SW, R The invention omprises a device for [5 ili g pa l i to pla e flush against the ceiling Fleld of Search D, 1 SW, 1 beams f i t ll tio The devi e has a upporting 254/3 3 4 4C structure for supporting the panel and telescoping sleeves for raising and lowering the panels. The device [56] References cued also has a cable and pulley connecting structure for UNITED STATES PATENTS telescoping the sleeves with a drum or spool for wind- 2,631,006 3/1953 Sick 254/3 R ing the Cable and a brake mechanism for the drum- 2,672,3l9 3/1954 Nelson 254/4 C X The supporting structure may also be pivoted at an 2,983,474 5/1961 Hanna 254/4 C X angle and carry thereon panels for installation against 3,221,900 12/1965 Love 214/1 SW the upright wall framework. 3,314,553 4/1967 Yircks 214/1 SW FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 4 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures 643,419 6/1962 Canada 214/1 SW I22 125 [I22 1/ K I I48 I23 PATENIED M181 31914 sum '2 or FIG.I4.

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FIG.IO.

FIG.6.

1 PANEL LIFTING DEVICE This invention relates to lifting apparatus, more particularly, the invention relates to lifting apparatus or devices for lifting panels and the like.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel lifting apparatus which may be collapsible for movement through doorways into the interior of a building and which may be easily and rapidly operated to lift sheet rock ceiling panels into place against the ceiling for mounting the ceiling panels to the ceiling.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel lifting apparatus or device which can be easily and rapidly operated to place ceiling panels in place for mounting to the ceiling framework, and which may also be employed to hold panels in place for securement to vertical wall framework.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel lifting and supporting device to facilitate placement of panels.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the device invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the telescoping structure of the panel lifting invention, illustration the telescoping sleeve nearly fully telescoped.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2, illustrating the telescoping sleeves. FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the panel lifting invention.

panel lifting FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cradle structure taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front elevational view of the cradle structure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the telescoping sleeve taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a view of the brake and drum mechanism taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 4 with portions broken away to reveal the intena construction.

FIG. 9 is a view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 1 of the brake and drum mechanism with portions broken away to reveal the interior construction.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of one of the hook members.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the stand.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a lifting device for lifting and aligning sheet rock panels to the ceiling and vertical walls for installation of the sheet panels to the interior frame of a building, said device comprises a telescoping shaft or sleeve structure, an upright frame, a drum mounted to the upright frame having a wheel for rotating the drum, a plurality of pulleys mounted to the telescoping structure and frame, a cable extending from the drum and about the pulleys and interconnecting the telescoping shaft structure whereby rotation of the drum in one direction by turning the wheel will telescope the telescoping shaft structure, spaced support beams mounted to the upper end of the telescoping shaft structure having hooks along one edge whereby a panel may be placed upon the support beams and raised vertically to the ceiling by the telescoping structure, or the support structure may be pivoted to an angle and a panel may rest in thehooks to move the device toward a vertical wall framework to place the panel in position against the vertical wall for installation of the sheet rock panel.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the panel lifting invention 20 is illustrated as having an upright main frame 21, and a telescoping sleeve structure 22 mounted to the upright frame 21. An L-shaped arm 92 is mounted to the top of the telescoping sleeve structure. A jacket 97 is mounted over the L-shaped arm 92 and is pivotally mounted to the L-shaped arm by a pin 96. A panel supporting structure 24 is mounted to the jacket.

The telescoping structure 22 has three elongated telescoping sleeves or shafts 25, 26, and 27. Each sleeve has a triangular cross section, with sleeve 27 slightly smaller than sleeve 26 so as to telescope into sleeve 26, and with sleeve 26 slightly smaller than sleeve 25 so as to telescope into sleeve 25.

The main frame 21 has an elongated V-shaped flange 28 which is welded to the outside of sleeve 25. An L- shaped tubular rod 29 has one end welded to the upper end 28 of flange 28. A horizontal tubular rod 30 has one end 30 welded to the side of rod 29 adjacent the lower end of rod 29 and has its other end 30" welded to the lower end 28" of flange 28.

A pair of leg support members 31 and 32 are pivotally mounted to the flange 28 of the main frame. The leg support members 31 and 32 have each a pair of tubular legs 33 and 34 with their one ends 33' and 34 welded together and their other ends pivotally mounted to the flange 28, by means of lugs, four pairs of lugs 35 and 35 with two pairs fixed on each side of flange 28 and which project outwardly and pins 36. The pins 36 pass through the lugs 35 and 35 on each side of the flange 28, and through the other ends 33" and 34" of the legs 33 and 34 to pivotally connect the leg support members to the flange about vertical axis.

Two caster wheels 37 and 38 are pivotally mounted to the outer ends of leg supports 31 and 32 and one caster wheel 39 is pivotally mounted to the main frame 21. Each wheel has a yoke 40 with the wheel rotatably mounted in the yoke and a rod 40' is fixed to the top of the yoke. Each leg member 32 and 31 has a cylindrical sleeve 41 fixed at the outer ends of the leg members 33 and 34. The rods 40' of wheels 37 and 38 are received and rotatably mounted in the sleeves 41. The rod 40' of wheel 39 is rotatably mounted in the tubular open end of rod 29 of the main frame to support the main frame.

A cylindrical sleeve 42 is slidably mounted on the rod 30 and a pair of identical braces 43 and 43' have their one ends pivotally mounted to opposite sides of the sleeve 42 and their other ends mounted to legs 33 of legs support 31 and 32, to brace the leg support, and yet allow the leg support to pivot or collapse against opposite sides of the main frame by the sleeve 42 sliding along the rod 30 toward the rod 29.

A cable drum and brake mechanism 44 is mounted to the main frame 21, being attached to a brace member 45, which brace member 45 at its outer ends 45 and 45" is welded to the rod 29. The cable drum and brake mechanism 43 has a tubular center rod 46 and a pair of circular annular dishlike members 47 and 48 with the base 47 and 48 of the dish-like members 47 and 47' fixed axially to the outer ends of the center rod 46. A bolt 48 passes through bores 49 and 49' in the dish members 47 and 48 and through the tubular center rod 46, and the dish members 47 and 48 and center rod 46 are rotatably on the bolt 48 as a spool or drum. An upright plate 50 is fixed to the brace and the one end of the bolt is threaded into upright plate and a nut 51 is threaded onto the outer end of the bolt. The other end of the bolt has an enlarged head 50' which abuts the inner face 48" of the dish member 48.

A cylindrical rod or plug 52 has a cylindrical outer surface 52 and a cylindrical bore 53 therethrough which is offset in relation to the center axis of rod and which aligns with the bolt 48 and allows the bolt to pass therethrough. The plug 52 is fixed to the upright plate 50. A block-like braking member 54 has a bore 54 at one end and the rod 52 is received in the bore 54 and the block braking member may rotate about the cylindrical outer surface of the rod 52, within confines of 55 of the dish member 47. A handle 56 is welded to the outside of the block member to operate the block member 54 to pivot it about the offset axis of rod 52.

The block member 54 has frictional fabric outer brake surfaces 54" and can pivot counterclockwise about the offset axis of the rod 52 when viewed from FIG. 8 to engage three inside surfaces 57 of the wall 58 of the dish member 47 at location 59 illustrated in solid lines and designated by numeral 60. Also, the block member 54 can pivot clockwise about the offset axis of plug 52 to engage the inside surface 57 of wall 58 of dish member 47 at location 61, as illustrated in phantom lines and designated by numeral 62.

Thus, the offset rod 52, bolt 48, being fixed to the upright plate 50 which is fixed to brace 45, while the dish member 47 and 48 and the center tubular rod 46 are fixed together to form a drum or spool and are rotatable on the bolt 48, and the block member 54 is rotatable on offset axis of the rod 52 to engage the inner surfaces of the dish member 47 to frictionally stop the rotation of dish member 47 and thereby stop the rotation of center rod 46 and dish 48 fixed thereto.

The telescoping tubular sleeves 25, 26, and 27 act to raise and lower the cradle 23 and panel support structure 24. The telescoping sleeve 25 is open at its top, and has a longitudinal cutaway 63 along its one face 64 of its triangular shape with vertical flanges 65 and 66.

The telescoping sleeve 26 is also open at its top and has a longitudinal cutaway 67 along its one face within vertical flanges 68 and 69 along the outer edge and with connecting strips 70 and 71 connecting the flanges 68 and 69 at their upper and lower edges.

A pair of pulleys 72 and 73 are rotatably mounted in the upper and lower ends of sleeve 26. A pair of lugs 74 and 74 are fixed to the inner edges of flanges 68 and 69 at their upper end and project outward and a pin 75 passes through the lug and through the center of pulley 72, with the pulley 72 being rotatable on the pin 75 to rotatably mount the pulley 72 to the sleeve 26. A pair of lugs 76 and 77 are fixed to the inner edges of flanges 68 and 69 at their lower ends and a pin 78 passes through the lugs 76 and 77 and through the center of pulley 73, with pulley 73 being rotatable on pin 78, to rotatably mount the pulley 73 to the sleeve 26.

The sleeve 27 has an open cutaway 79 which extends along one face 80 of the sleeve 27 all the way to the bottom of the sleeve 27. The sleeve 27 has vertical side flanges 81 and 82 and only one connecting strip 84 connecting the flanges 81 and 82 together at the top and no bottom connecting strip.

A plug member 85 has a triangular outer surface to press fit into the top of the sleeve 27 and has a cylindrical vertical center bore.

A pair of plates 86 and 87 are welded to the rod 29 along opposite sides of rod 29 and project vertically downward in spaced relation. A pulley 88 is rotatably mounted between the plates by a pin 89 which passes through the plates 86 and 89 and through the center of pulley 88 with the pulley 88 being rotatable on the pin 89.

The flange 28 has a slot 90 to allow communication between the pulley 88 and the inside of flange 28.

A wire cable 91 has its one end 91 fixed to the center rod 46 of the drum or spool of the brake and drum mechanism.

The wire cable 91 extends from the center rod 46 of the drum around the pulley 88 and from pulley 88 around pulley 73 and from pulley 73 around pulley 72 and from pulley 72 to the lower end of the sleeve 27, where the other end 91 of the cable is fixed to the lower end 27 of the sleeve 27.

At the upper end of sleeve 27 is an L-shaped arm member 92 with one leg 93 projecting into the center bore of plug member 85 and with their other leg 94 projecting horizontally away from the sleeve 27. A cylindrical tube 95 is fixed to the outer end of the leg 94 of the arm member. A cylindrical rod 96 is rotatably mounted in the tube 95.

The jacket 97 has a top panel 98, a pair of side flanges 99, 100, and front flange 101, having an inwardly inclined lower portion 102. The side flanges have a pair of vertically elongated slots 103 and 104.

The top panel 98 of the jacket 97 rests upon the leg 93 of the arm 92, and the straight side flanges 99 and 100 are on opposite sides of the leg 93 in spaced relation to the leg 93 and the tube 95.

The elongated slots 103 and 104 are identical and receive the outer ends of the rod 96. A pair of cylindrical sleeves 105 and 106 are fixed to opposite sides of the flanges 99 and 100. A pair of coil springs 107 and 108 are socketed in the cylindrical sleeves 105 and 106. The sleeves 105 and 106. The sleeves 105 and 106 have inturned lower edge flange 109 upon which the lower ends of the coil spring rests and are retained in the sleeves. The coil springs 107 and 108 are slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the sleeves 105 and 106 to allow them to compress. A pair of screws 110 and 111 are threaded into threaded bores in the outer ends of the rod 96 and project downward into the center of the coil springs 107 and 108, respectively.

The support structure 24 can be pivoted clockwise from its position shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 5, which pivots the jacket and pin 96 clockwise with the support structure 24, about the axis of the pin 96, when viewed from FIGS. 1 and 5. The pin 96 is rotatable in the tube 95, the upper ends of the screws 110 and 111 are attached to the pin and the lower ends of the screws are socketed in the springs 107 and 108, the lower ends of the springs are socketed in the sleeves 105 and 106 and the sleeves are fixed to the jacket; so that the pivoting of the jacket, pivots the sleeves, the sleeves pivot the springs, the springs pivot the screws, and the screws pivot the pin 96- about the axis of the pin 96 by the pin rotating in the tube.

When viewedfrom the direction of FIG. 6 jacket 97 can pivot clockwise upward about the axis of the upper outer edge 112 of the tube 95, with the rod 96 moving downward in the slot 103, as indicated by the arrow 113, with the coil spring 107 expanding upward.

Similarly, when viewed from the direction of FIG. 6 the jacket can pivot counterclockwise upward about the axis of the upper outer edge 114 of the tube 95, with the rod 96 moving downward in the slot 104, as indicated by the arrow 115, with the coil spring 108 expanding upward.

The panel supporting structure 24 has a pair of cylindrical tubes 116 and 117 which are fixed in parallelism to the top panel 98 of the jacket 97. A pair of tubular rods 118 and 119 are slidably mounted in the tubes 116 and 117 in telescoping relation.

A pair of identical upright support panels 120 and 121 are fixed to the outer ends of the tubular rods 116 and 117. A pair of elongated beams 122 and 123 are fixed across the top of the upright support panels 120 and 121.

Similarly, a pair of identical upright support panels 124 and 125 of the same height as panels 120 and 121, though more narrow in width, as fixed to the outer ends of tubular rods 118 and 119, respectively. A pair of elongated beams 126 and 127 are fixed across the top of the upright panels 124 and 125.

The tubes 118 and 119, with their support panels 124 and 125, respectively, and beams 126, and 127, respectively, are slidably adjustable outward in the tubes 116 and 117, respectively.

To adjust the tube 118 outward, an elongated rod 128, which as a hook 129 at one end will be unhooked from plate 130, and slid outward along a bore 131 on panel 120 and bore 132 in panel 124 and rehooked around the inner edge of plate 134. The tube 118 will be slid out the same distance when the outer end of the upright panel 124 will abut the threaded nut at the end of the rod 135. A pin will be inserted in the bore in the tube 116, and the pin will closely abut the inner end of the tube 118.

The tube 119 will be adjusted outward in the same manner in the opposite direction, by unhooking the hook 138 of the rod 139 from the plate 130, and sliding the rod 139 outward in the bore 140 in the panel 121, and in the bore 141 in panel 125 and rehooking the hooked end 138 about the inner edge of plate 142. The tube 119 will then be slid outward the same distance and a pin will be inserted in a bore in the tube 117 which will abut the inner end of tube 119 while the threaded nut on the outer end of the rod 139 will abut the outside of panel 125.

A pair of wire rods 146 and 147 are pivotally mounted to the outer ends of the beams 122 and 123, respectively. The rods 146 and 147 have each spaced rod portions 148 and 149, and a lateral rod portion 150 connecting the rod portions 148 and 149 together at one end and a lateral rod portion 151 connecting rod portion 148 and 149 together at the other end. The lateral rod portion 151 of the rods 146 and 147 passes under the beams 122 and 123, respectively and is flat along its upper surface, so that the rods 146 and 147 will normally not pivot further up from its position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1. The rod portions 151 are held in place or the beams 122 and 123 by plates 152,

which plates have a channel portion 153 which surrounds the rod portion 151 and provides a pivotal support for the rod portion 151. Bolts 154 pass through the plates 152 into the beams 122 and 123, and each one has coil spring 155 compressed between the heads 156 of the bolts 154 and the plates 152 and urge the channel portion 153 against the rod portions 151, to normally prevent the movement of the rods 146 and 147 about their rod portions 151.

The rods 146 and 147 will, however, pivot about their rod portions with a relatively small amount of pressure to overcome the spring pressure.

A pair of metal discs 157 are mounted to laterally bent portions 158 and 158 of the spaced rod portions 148 and 149 by means of a bolt 158 which passes through the discs 157, between the rod portions 158 and 158 and into a bore in the bracket 159 and a nut is threaded onto the bolt from the opposite side. The bracket 159 has channel portions 160 and 161 which surround the rod portions 158 and 158' from the opposite side of the disc 157 to hold the disc 157 rigidly to the arms 127 and 128.

A stand 162 is provided for the operator to stand upon. The stand 162 has a pair of telescoping legs 163 and 164, and each leg has an upper outer sleeve 165 and an inner lower sleeve 166. The inner sleeve has a plurality of spaced holes therethrough 167 and the outer sleeve has hole 168 therethrough. A pin 169 is inserted into the holes 168 and one of the holes 167 to adjust the inner sleeve relative to the outer sleeve to thereby adjust the height of the outer end of the stand. The upper end of the sleeves 166 of the legs 163 and 164 are pivotally mounted to a rod 170 which passes through a tube 170. A plurality of spaced plates 171 have their outer ends 171 fixed to the tube. The plates 171 are aligned between a similar pair of plates 172 so that the inner ends 171" of the plates 171 overlap the outer ends 172' of the plates 172 so that they may telescope into one another to shorten the length of the stand. Plates 173 and 174 are fixed laterally across the inner ends 171" of plates 171 and spaced free of plates 172 Plates 175 and 176 are fixed laterally across the outer ends of plates 172 and are spaced free of plate 171.

The plates 172 at their inner ends 172" are fixed to a cylindrical tube 177 and a cylindrical rod 178 passes through the tube. A U-shaped bracket 178 has its legs 179 and 179' pivotally mounted to the outer ends of the rod 178. A cylindrical sleeve 180 is fixed to the U- bracket and the sleeve 180 is slidably and rotatably mounted on cylindrical pole 181. The pole 181 has reduced cylindrical upper and lower rod portions 182 and 183 which are mounted in a bore in lug 184 at its upper end and socketed in a pin 36 of lug 35 at its lower end, which are fixed to the side of flanges 28.

A similar stand may be provided on the other side of flanges 28 by mounting the stand on the opposite side of the flange 28.

The pole 181 has a plurality of spaced holes 186 vertically along its length and the sleeve 180 has a hole 187 and a pin may be inserted in the hole 187 into one of the holes 186 to adjust the height of the inner end of the stand.

The stand also has a collapsible brace 188 between the plate 171 and the legs 163 and 164 so that the legs 163 and 164 may be collapsed against the plate 171. Also the plate 171 may be telescoped into the plates 172 and pivot upward about the rod 178 and against the channel 28 and secured there by suitable means such as chains.

Operation The panel lifting device operates as follows: The sheet rock panel as illustrated in FIG. 1 and designated by numeral 189 will be placed upon the beams 122 and 123, and 126 and 127 of the support framework 24.

The framework support 24 will be elevated to place the sheet rock panel 189 flush against the ceiling beams by rotating the'wheel 44 to rotate the spool clockwise when viewed from FIG. 1 to wind the cable 91 onto the rod 46 of the spool and the shortening of the cable 91 and the shortening of the cable length pulls or telescopes sleeve 27, upward relative to sleeve and telescope sleeve 26 upward relative to sleeve 25. The shortening of the cable length portion 91 between pulley 88 and pulley 7.3 telescopes the sleeve 26 upward relative to sleeve 25, and the shortening of the cable length portion 91 between the pulley 72 and the lower end of sleeve 27 telescopes the sleeve 27 upward relative to sleeve 26. The wheel 44 will be rotated to wind the cable 91 until the sleeves 26 and 27 have been telescoped sufficiently to push the sheet rock panel or dry wall panel 189 flush against the ceiling beams.

The sleeve 27 may rise first relative to the sleeve 26, or sleeve 26 may rise first depending upon such facters as the frictional drag encountered. However, the amount of total rise of the upper sleeve 27 remains constant with the length of cable being wound onto the drum so the operation can be controlled accurately.

FIG. 2 illustrates the tubular sleeves 25, 26, and 27 nearly fully telescoped. The sleeves 26 and 27 can be telescoped upward until the cable length portion 91 between pulley 88 and pulley 73 becomes horizontal and the cable length portion 91" between pulley 72 and the lower end of the sleeve 27 is horizontal at which time the sleeve will be fully telescoped.

When the sleeves have been telescoped sufficiently to place the sheet rock panel flush against the ceiling. The brake or block member 54 will be pivoted against the dish member 47 to its position shown in phantom lines 62, by the handle 56 which will lock the dish member 47 and thereby locks the spool against counterclockwise movement by the wedging action between the block member 54 and the wall 58 of the drum whichprevents the cable 91 from unwinding and thereby holds the sleeves in their telescoped position. A coil spring 190 has one end 190 attached to the block member 54 and the other end 190" attached to the collar 52' and urgint the block member 54 clockwise when viewed from FIG. 8 to engage the dish member 49 at location 61. When the ceiling panel or sheet rock or dry wall panel 189 has been installed, the operator will retract the sleeves to lower the supporting structure 24. The sleeves will be retracted by pivoting the block member 54 counterclockwise from its position shown in phantom lines 61 to a vertical position between the phantom line position and its position shown in solid lines, which frees the dish member 47 of the drum and allows the drum to freely rotate to unwind the cable from the drum with the weight of the supporting structure retracting the sleeves, which lengths the cable length portion 91 and 91" until sleeve 27 is fully retracted into the sleeve 26 and sleeve 26 is fully retracted into sleeve 25.

To prevent the sleeves from retracting at too fast a rate, the operator will normally pivot the block member 54 counterclockwise against the inside of the wall 58 of the dish member to its position shown in solid lines in FIG. 7 and hold it against the dish member 47 to create a frictional drag as the drum rotates to unwind the cable 91. The block member 54 will not wedge or lock in this position shown in solid lines but will create a frictional drag depending upon the pressure applied by the operator of the handle.

The hook members 146 and 147 will pivot downward slightly as the outer ends 146' and 147' of the hooks engage the previous ceiling panel installed adjacent the area where the ceiling panel 189 is being installed. However, the outside edges 157 of the disc 157 will act to abut against the edge of the previous ceiling panel,

- adjacent the area where the ceiling panel 189 is being installed and this acts to align the ceiling panel 189 with the previous ceiling panel already installed for more rapid alignment during installation.

When it is desired to install a sheet rock panel 189 to a vertical wall, the supporting structure 24 will be pivoted clockwise from its position shown in FIG. 1, which pivots the jacket 97 and the pin 96 clockwise with the supporting structure 24, and the panel 189 will rest on the hooks 146 and 147. The supporting structure will then be raised or lowered by the telescoping sleeves to align the ceiling panel while in its pivoted near vertical position to the proper height for its installation to the vertical wall framework and the lifting device 20 will be pushed forward to the wall on its caster wheels until the panel 189 abuts the wall framework at the area the panel is to be installed. The hooks 146 and 147 will hold the ceiling panel 189 at that height to facilitate placement of the sheet rock paneling to the studs of the vertical framework.

Thus it will be seen that a novel sheet rock installation device has been provided which will lift sheet paneling flush against the ceiling beams for installation and which may be employed for installing sheet rock panels to the studs of the vertical wall framework.

It will be obvious that various changes and departures may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof and accordingly it is not intended that the invention be limited to that specifically described in the specification or as illustrated in the drawings, but only as indicated in the appended claims wherein:

What is claimed is:

l. A panel lifting device for lifting and aligning panels for installation of said panels to ceilings or walls, said device comprising a vertical telescoping structure, leg support means mounted to the bottom of said telescoping structure, a pivotal connection means mounted to the top of said telescoping structure, panel support structure mounted to the top of said pivotal connection means, a drum and friction brake mechanism mounted to said device with cable means connecting said telescoping structure with said drum and brake mechanism acting to telescope and retract said telescoping structure by said cable means and acting to retain said telescoping structure at selected positions, said panel support structure being pivotally mounted to said sleeve structure so that said panel support structure may pivot abouta first horizontal axis relative to the sleeve structure from a horizontal position to, an angular position, hook means to retain said panels on said support structure when pivoted at said angular position, means on said pivotal connection whereby said panel support structure may pivot about either of a pair of second and third axes perpendicular to said first horizontal axis.

2. A panel lifting device according to claim 1 wherein said drum and brake mechanism comprises a rotatable drum for winding and unwinding said cable for said telescoping and retracting of said telescoping structure, and said brake mechanism comprises a friction lever pivotally mounted in an offset relation to the center axis of said drum, friction lever being pivotally mounted to pivot in one direction to provide a wedging type positive lock for the drum and pivot in the opposite direction and act only as a frictional drag upon the drum, with an intermediate position which allows the drum to rotate freely.

3. A panel lifting device for lifting and aligning panels for installation of the panels to a ceiling, said device comprising at least three vertically elongated telescoping members, a support, said first of said at least three telescoping members being fixed upright to said support, said second of said at least three telescoping members being smaller than said first member to telescope into and outward from said first member and extending vertically upward from within said first member, said third of said at least three telescoping members being smaller than said second member so as to telescope into and outward from said second member, a first pulley means rotatably mounted to said first member adjacent the upper end of said first member, a second pulley means rotatably mounted to the lower end of said second member, a third pulley means rotatably mounted to the upper end of said second member, drum means mounted to said support, cable means having its one end attached to the lower end of said third member and extending from the lower end of said third member around said third, second, and first pulley means to said drum, whereby by rotating said drum to wind said cable said third and second telescoping members may telescope upward from a height approximating one of said members to a height at the top of said third member which is in excess to the combined height of any two of said telescoping members.

4. A panel lifting device according to claim 3 wherein each of said telescoping members has a triangular cross section and is slotted along one face thereof, 

1. A panel lifting device for lifting and aligning panels for installation of said panels to ceilings or walls, said device comprising a vertical telescoping structure, leg support means mounted to the bottom of said telescoping structure, a pivotal connection means mounted to the top of said telescoping structure, panel support structure mounted to the top of said pivotal connection means, a drum and friction brake mechanism mounted to said device with cable means connecting sAid telescoping structure with said drum and brake mechanism acting to telescope and retract said telescoping structure by said cable means and acting to retain said telescoping structure at selected positions, said panel support structure being pivotally mounted to said sleeve structure so that said panel support structure may pivot about a first horizontal axis relative to the sleeve structure from a horizontal position to an angular position, hook means to retain said panels on said support structure when pivoted at said angular position, means on said pivotal connection whereby said panel support structure may pivot about either of a pair of second and third axes perpendicular to said first horizontal axis.
 2. A panel lifting device according to claim 1 wherein said drum and brake mechanism comprises a rotatable drum for winding and unwinding said cable for said telescoping and retracting of said telescoping structure, and said brake mechanism comprises a friction lever pivotally mounted in an offset relation to the center axis of said drum, friction lever being pivotally mounted to pivot in one direction to provide a wedging type positive lock for the drum and pivot in the opposite direction and act only as a frictional drag upon the drum, with an intermediate position which allows the drum to rotate freely.
 3. A panel lifting device for lifting and aligning panels for installation of the panels to a ceiling, said device comprising at least three vertically elongated telescoping members, a support, said first of said at least three telescoping members being fixed upright to said support, said second of said at least three telescoping members being smaller than said first member to telescope into and outward from said first member and extending vertically upward from within said first member, said third of said at least three telescoping members being smaller than said second member so as to telescope into and outward from said second member, a first pulley means rotatably mounted to said first member adjacent the upper end of said first member, a second pulley means rotatably mounted to the lower end of said second member, a third pulley means rotatably mounted to the upper end of said second member, drum means mounted to said support, cable means having its one end attached to the lower end of said third member and extending from the lower end of said third member around said third, second, and first pulley means to said drum, whereby by rotating said drum to wind said cable said third and second telescoping members may telescope upward from a height approximating one of said members to a height at the top of said third member which is in excess to the combined height of any two of said telescoping members.
 4. A panel lifting device according to claim 3 wherein each of said telescoping members has a triangular cross section and is slotted along one face thereof. 